


Ghost, Shadow, Ice.

by orphan_account



Category: Frozen - Fandom
Genre: Ghosts but not really, Magic, Random other things that I'm forgetting, Spies and Assassins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-11
Updated: 2015-09-11
Packaged: 2018-04-20 06:35:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4777214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>several years after Frozen, how has the kingdom developed. A thief comes to visit, and what comes of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

# Chapter one

"What do you reckon our haul will be Sein?"

"If the rumors are even half true, we'll be able to buy our own castles and be lords in our own right." The statement was greeted with laughter from all but one of those in the wagon.

"What's with you Kel? so quiet, like you don't care."

"I care about this, but talking about it where any prying eyes and sharp ears will find out isn't wise."

"Spoilsport." However, the other six thieves quieted down, they knew I had a point, even if they wished otherwise. They still conversed amongst themselves quietly, arguing who would get which day to break in to the royal treasury. This had been a long awaited heist for them. I didn't care to much about where I was, there were rich royals everywhere. And that meant that I could steal anywhere, however, I had come along because they had needed another thief to fill the week. one of the few guild rules that people followed was that any thieving groups had to have one person per day of the week. Since nobody else had managed to steal from the royal family of Arendelle in almost twenty years, There weren't many people willing to come along.

"Where was the ghost's last strike?" the ghost was the thief of legends, never caught, and only ever stealing from the most well guarded places

"Last anybody heard, he hit one of the areas in Wesselton."

"You lived with those weasels?"

"Even if he did, we're all thieves here, won't do to be fighting when we get to Arendelle." once again, they dropped that line of conversation.

"Was there anything left behind or was he still true to form?"

"As usual, not a sign of him, but for that the treasurer counted fifty ounces of gold less than was there the day before."

"One of these days he's going to die of age, then somebody is going to find a body in their treasury that nobody saw going in and we'll all know who it was." it was a popular opinion that the Ghost would die during a job, and thus be revealed, though so far his trail of robberies was, if rumors were to be trusted, almost twenty years long.

"To bad he'll be dead then, he could probably teach lessons on thievery and make a couple dozen ounces a week." we all laughed at that. I smiled, they didn't have any idea.

"Ho! there's the castle there!" we all looked out, looking down from the mountain ridge, the bay was an awe-inspiring blue, the castle of stones stacked blue on lighter blues with whites in some places. the city around it was as busy as any other city during a festival.

"Well let's get going, after all, we need to deliver the kind dukes goods." The others laughed at my jibe at the duke over wesselton, more commonly called weaseltown. earlier we had 'borrowed' about fifty barrels of flour and sugar from the duke of the country, using them as a reason to be here.

Once we reached the city gates, we were stopped by a guard to identify ourselves and our reason for coming. shortly after, we were on our way to the castle. I smiled inwardly. Perhaps, I would finally find myself a challenge. Maybe this one castle would be the one that I would call my greatest theft. that was after all, the reason I had traveled so far. the others, they were probably here for the money, Arendelle was a rather wealthy kingdom, after all.

"alright, once we get inside the castle, The information I've gathered indicates that it is standard for the dukes traders to spend a few days here, maybe so much as a week, on account of the festival before loading up with Arendelles goods and returning."

We all nodded. We wouldn't be suspicious if we stayed a week then. which was what we needed for each of us to have one day to try breaking in. I was on the last day, since it gave me the most time to scout out the castle and the city, in case I had to make a quick escape. the downside was that if one of the others messed up, I might get myself cooked. We unloaded at one of the warehouses on the shore, then, in keeping with the traders we were masquerading as, we set up camp on the outskirts of the city. each of us then set off to begin scouting the place.

I reached out to stop one of the passerby. "Sir, why is everybody so busy just now?"

"You must be new around here not to know that. Welcome to our city. this is the week during which we celebrate the return of our queen from the mountain. The main part is the skating, the first two days, tomorrow and the day after, are for competitions, Should you wish to participate or watch. the rest of the week, anybody who wants to can come on and join us on the ice. the last day though, at the close of the festival, well... just don't miss it, I don't want to ruin the surprise."

"I see. but I have one question."

"And what might that be?"

"I know it's cooler here than in some other places, but it is still summer, so how does the ice rink..."

"Oh, of course, silly me-here, could you give me a hand with this?- The queen, she's... how do I say this..." I reached out and took up the board that he had indicated, following him as we carried it.

"there are rumors that your queen commands the ice itself, are you telling me that these rumors are true?"

"Well... yes, though she's no witch, It's a rather wonderful festival, but unfortunately, we're running just a little bit behind, so if you could help with this, that would be wonderful."

"At your service, just tell me where you want me." he smiled and pointed me towards a building crew. "They've just lost a man to a board, his leg got caught so he'll be fine in a while, but for now they're working to slowly."

I nodded and headed toward the crew he had indicated. "I heard you needed some help."

"Then you heard right, I saw Tom point you over here, and am I glad he did, we need every man we can get."

"Then just tell me what you want done." I smiled. construction work wasn't too hard, even the most complicated parts, and it would give me time to get a shadow map of the castle.

"Go over to that end there and help John set the north edge of the seats." I nodded, and headed over to where 'John' was hammering together a framework for a series of seats, each row slightly higher than the last. "I was told you might need some help with that, anything I should do?"

John nodded. "Lift that end there if you could, I've been puzzling over how to get this corner straight ever since Bill hit his leg with it."

We passed the rest of the day in companionable silence, occasionally he would point me to another spot or ask to hold something still for him. In the meantime I asked the shadows about the castle. They might not be the best at details, but a Shadow map was a good way to get an Idea of where everything was. by the end of the day, I had the first floor and the dungeon. the dungeon, in standard style, was a single floor of stone masonry, placed facing into the sea, with forty or so cells along a single hallway, which looped around on itself. the first floor held three hallways from the entry, a large room with a vaulted ceiling. the one that led straight onward lead to the ballroom, with a hallway leading on from there at the back. the two halls to the sides lead to the edges of the castle then to the back and looped around, meeting each other at the back. the castle was filled with rooms, many of which lead to other rooms and linked in such ways from the hallway at the back of the ballroom to the back of the castle and so forth. the stairs were in one of these such chains of rooms, which seemed to be designed to make my job harder, not that I cared to much. there were guards patrolling the straight of each hallway, two along the back, two along the front, and one on each side, with several others patrolling through the various chains of rooms.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> seeking a quiet place for lunch puts kel in position to overhear a a few interesting things.

## Chapter two

That night, I watched the opening ceremony of the festival, a magnificent display of the queens icy talents and twenty younger folk, performing on the ice, singing, dancing, and even putting on a theater act. at the end of which, the queen, Elsan, or something, announced that all contestants were now welcome on the ice. I didn't see much of the ceremony itself, I only heard and saw the ice that appeared in the night sky. it was a beautiful performance, if sound was to go by.

I retired for the night, not bothering to await Sein, who had the first day. The others, less worried about sleep and wondering what he was doing stayed up long after I fell asleep.

That morning, we discovered that Sein had yet to return, and so, in the early hours of the morning, I slipped down to the prison, to see If Sein was there, not that I would let him out, none of us had promised to help any of the others, so should anyone think to ask him, he would or had warned that we would be coming throughout the week. I was impressed by the silence of the castle folk about it, they had caught an intruder in the castle, but there was not so much as a whisper of idle gossip slipping from cook to butcher, or from stable boy to Ferrier. Then again, if my ruler was able to lock me in ice for the rest of my life, I'd be pretty quiet to.

the festival held many actors and artists, as well as vendors for nearly everything imaginable. I stopped at a few acts, remembering counsel given me by my grandfather, 'if a street performer is good enough to stop you, you owe him a coin.' Then, seeing it to be about noon, I purchased a meat pie and some milk, then went to find a quiet place to eat. I wandered aimlessly for a short time, then found myself looking at the perfect place, the castle garden. Checking, to make sure nobody was looking, I slipped in, and sat down behind a couple of thick bushes to eat.

I was just finishing up when I heard footsteps and voices coming toward me. I didn't have anything left to cover up, so I ducked down low and headed to a darker part of the garden to hide and listen for something interesting. Then I waited as the voices came closer.

"Anna, I told you already, I'm not interested."

"But Elsa, You'll like him." _What are they talking about?_

"Anna, I would be perfectly capable of finding my own husband, IF I wished to."

"Elsa, you can't spend the rest of your life unmarried." _The young princess Anna obviously has no idea what she's talking about. Anyone like her sister, this Queen Elsa, would not be a very... Approachable, person, much less one to look at for a wife._

"Anna, I'll decide if I will or won't marry, not you, and I know that the trolls are good at impressing these things importance, but they have an... odd way of looking at things."

"Very well Elsa. Oh! Olaf said that He was going to go visit the trolls with Sven until the end of the festival, on account of last time..."

"I understand." I shifted slightly, trying to get ready to leave. It seemed that I'd learn nothing of interest after all. As I did so, I caught a glimpse of the queen and her sister. It was unmistakable which was which, A tall, white blonde woman, walking across the garden in a way that I could only describe as queenly grace, not that I had seen many queens, most of what I did, though in that same building, never saw me cross paths with one. on the other hand, the slightly shorter, redheaded girl who seemed, if anything, bouncy and oblivious, marched alongside her sister in a laughable imitation of her sisters movement. I started to slip away, there was no reason to stay and prolong my chances of being seen.

"What do you make of the Sein person Elsa?" I froze, wondering what was coming next.

"I don't know, It's been nearly twenty years since we've had so much as a pickpocket, and now, Somebody trying to break into the royal treasury itself. I would have just sent him out of town with orders not to come back, but if he tried to return that would have made a scene, and I'd hate for that to happen during this festival."

"I think we could put him in your ice palace Elsa, it'd take him ages to get out of there, since it's all clear, it would be hard for him to get out."

"It's also a death sentence. I can live off ice, but normal people can't. Without any food, he'd never survive getting out, much less getting to another kingdom."

"Oh." Anna seemed to deflate as I watched. I waited a little longer to see if they were going to continue.

"On the other hand, He'll be no worse for wear after a few days locked up, and then we can send him out." Anna nodded enthusiastically, then suddenly spun and started running toward the castle.

"I almost forgot, I told Kristoff I'd go watch one of the plays with him!"

"Tell him I said hello." Elsa turned away from her sister, a small smile on her face. A man in a green coat walked over. "The duke's latest shipment has been unloaded and we are preparing our shipments of cloth and ice to send back."

"Tell them to send the duke a message for me." The man raised one eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Stop sending spies, I'm getting tired of putting them in the dungeon."

The man nodded. "Very well, my queen." He then turned and walked away. The queen looked out over the sea to a mountain on the far side of the bay, a touch of longing in her eyes. I turned and slipped out, after all, nobody was watching, and there wasn't anything interesting happening.


	3. Chapter 3

## Chapter three

"Well, we know what happened to Sein now." The others nodded.

"So whatever he was trying, it didn't work. Maybe from now on, we tell each other what our plans are before we leave, that way if it doesn't work, we'll know what not to try."

"Then, if something does work, we can do the same thing." The Thievery rules were that each group shared the profits with all those who were not caught in the attempt. And while this meant that some people preferred the rest of the group to be caught, It was usually more profitable if each member were successful, since then you didn't have to find a new group each time.

"Then we are agreed, until a plan works, we will reveal our plans before we go to execute them, for better or for worse." Each nodded, then raised one hand toward each other, signing that we bound ourselves to the agreement,  until the end of the job.

"Dan, your plan then,"

"I plan to climb over the back wall, sneak in the window at the back, and then climb the stairs, search that floor for the treasury, then, if it isn't there, I'll head out the window on the second floor and head back in on the third floor, from there I'll check each room for the treasury. the royal sisters rooms are two of the towers, so that leaves only two that it could be if it isn't on the third floor. if it isn't in whichever tower I end my search closet to I'll go to the other one, then out the nearest window onto the roof, and from there I'll climb down the wall to the shoreline, then I'll sneak along the coast to the camp." _I can find a couple dozen faults in that plan. but I won't bother, I'm not here for money, and if he gets himself caught because he didn't look at the floor plan before he broke in, that's his problem._

The rest of the thieves however, thought that this was a sound plan, and Dan set off with echoes of praise in his ears. I left the camp and slept in the forest that night. If Dan got himself caught, soon it wouldn't be safe around here.

As I predicted, he'd gotten himself caught as well. The rest of the group was arguing over ways to get in and out safely, but I didn't care to listen. I went to watch the ice skating, after all, tom had told he not to miss it.

It was like watching a play at a fancy theater, but even better, because it was in the open sky, and the ice figures around the rink added to the beauty. along the outside edge, a few children skated happily, not noticing the plays that were being performed only a few feet from them. The Shadows gave me a map of the second floor, as well as telling me where Sein and Dan had been caught. the second floor was as full of hallways as the first was full of rooms. the entire second floor was made of small rooms and long halls, servants quarters and storerooms for various tools of the trade, mops, brooms, etc. Dan had been caught trying to open a window that was sealed closed on the second floor, while Sein had been caught when he opened a door that lead  from one hallway to another, a few guards had been in that room, on break, but still with enough presence of mind to catch the unlucky intruder.

I watched the skaters for a while longer, wondering how much time it took to be able to glide so far along the ice without stopping, without a care in the world, without thought for slipping, or for past or present, or at least to take on the appearance of such. I slipped along, buying a snack as I passed, slipping back into the castle garden, a quiet place, undisturbed by the number of people on the other side of the wall. I finished my meal, then returned to watch the festivities, a few children's games, and of course, the all important strength test, something I found ridiculous and more childish than even most of the games meant for the children. I watched one after another as various people tried their luck at the different games in the festival, participating in none. shortly after two o'clock, I walked back to our camp, then climbed a tree, falling asleep quickly.

I was awoken by yells from camp. It seemed somebody had managed to bring back a prize of some type from one of the games, and naturally was being congratulated for it. It was coming to be time For Geld to head out.

"My plan is simple. I'm just going to take out any guards I find, and anybody else in my way. Once I've done that, I'll call  you and we can all clean out their treasury." He headed out, and shortly was out of sight. None of us was hopeful for his plan. He was strong, but he had no weapon, and was facing a small army of well armed and well trained guards. When he didn't return that morning, nobody was surprised. We were however getting worried, if one of the captured thieves gave us away, we would have to run. _Three gone, three left._ I snuck into the castle, doing nothing but sitting in the same place for hours, unseen in the shadows. I got the last shadow map, the third floor. on the north east corner of the castle was Elsa's room. on the north west corner, Anna's. the south east corner held a watchtower, for wartimes. the south west tower was a lighthouse, revealing the coastline to nearby ships. the top floor was divided into four main sections. the northern side was the royal families living space, while the southern side held much of the administrative rooms. behind the administrative rooms, there was a hidden room, the treasury. the door lead down, into the second floor. There were three of four times as many guards in the Castle as there had been when I arrived. I slipped back out into the garden near the end of the day, wondering what Ben's plan was.

"I'll get onto the wall, then from there I'll throw a rope onto the roof of the castle, then I'll climb the wall to the roof, then work my way down." Then Ben turned and marched away. _I'll find him the jail tomorrow, that throw is impossible._ It was a sixty foot throw, even from against the castle, from the wall outside, He was proposing to throw his rope and grappling hook over a hundred feet. I shrugged mentally. I had signed on with a troop of idiots, so I might as well resign myself to it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> breaking into the vault is the easy part, it's getting out that's the hard part.

## Chapter four

Aren and Warren were both understandably worried, four of our group had been caught, and they didn't know where the treasury was, so They were about ready to surrender before they even got to the castle. I stayed out of the camp the whole day, watching a reenactment of the day that was being celebrated, the day Elsa was coronated and the events that followed, a three day long blizzard, the freezing of the bay, and the return of the queen, followed by the dispersing of the blizzard and the beginning of the reign of Queen Elsa. I almost yawned, but that would have been rude to the performers. I would have left, but I had figured that I should learn what it was that was being celebrated. I returned to the forest and climbed up and down trees, leaping from branch to branch. I wanted to be ready for my turn. I didn't return to hear Aren's plan, If it worked then lucky him, if not, his problem, not mine. We're thieves after all, our skin is more valuable than any others, at least as far as thieves go, I'd be willing to trade myself for my family, if they were still alive, but They aren't, and that's that.

Warren was even more worried the next day. He was so scared as he left that It was almost Like watching him march to his own execution. Then again, I thought. Maybe he is.

He didn't return either. I slipped into the castle garden that day, waiting. The royal sisters walked across the grounds, trailed by a younger man, in the garb of an ice cutter.

"Why are there so many people trying to break into the castle?"

"I don't know, it's been a few years since... the storm, although before that there still wasn't much crime in Arendelle, and certainly nothing like this."

"Any ideas why they've come though?"

"No, but if this last thief comes tomorrow, I'm going to get it out of them then."

"Why wait?"

"Because I haven't time to waste on redoing interrogations, and without all of them, that's exactly what I would have to do." The ground around the queen frosted over as she spoke, the tips of the grass turning full white and fading into green farther from her. I wondered why I found that noteworthy, after all, I had watched her make an skating rink from nothing, so why did frost on the grass strike me as odd? I didn't move, the ice was getting closer, but if it grew past me then the slightest movement would alert them to my presence. being coated in frost momentarily was preferable. I  stayed where I was, hoping no guards would spot me. The frost stopped just past me. I could probably get out without being noticed, but I didn't want to push my luck. there weren't any guards on the wall just now, so they weren't going to see me, and hidden as I was, none of the royal party was going to spot me.

"Elsa, calm down, we'll figure it out tomorrow, although you haven't told me how you plan to catch this last thief, you said you had a failsafe, but you haven't told me."

"It's hardly a failsafe if I tell you where anybody can hear it." A small smile touched the queen and ice cutters face at the oblivious approach to the point. I almost smiled. Almost. It was an odd sensation. I wasn't one for actual mirth, not since I took the name ghost, when my family had been taken from me on false charges. I snapped back to the present, realizing I had missed something.

"alright Anna, later then." Anna and Kristoff, the ice cutter, turned and walked away, a slight bounce to their step. I waited for the queen to turn away to make my exit. No need to take chances.

Twilight came, and I stood near the front of the crowd, watching for the unknown surprise that tom had insisted I see. He was bouncing up and down like a young child next to me. I would have been happy farther back, but he had found me and half dragged half pulled me forward. I for one was wondering what the queen was planning for the closing ceremony. I was about ready to try and sneak out of the crowd when the queen arrived. I wasn't sure when she had appeared, but I was instantly attentive  to the number of spinning ice tendrils, catching the firelight and reflecting it out in a thousand rainbows, flashes of light shone from the ice as it bobbed and wove through the air, spiraling upward before snapping and bursting into pieces, falling like tiny pieces of light to the ground. The tiny flakes of ice fell in a thin sheet of colors, Revealing dozens of multicolored snowflakes bursting into the air, the smallest of them was easily the size of a dinner plate, the largest were as big as the towers of the castle behind the ice rink. In the one moment, I knew a beauty other than the darkness and peace of the shadows. It may have been an amazing display of power and beauty, but I couldn't compare it to that of the shadows, they were far too different. Tom turned to me, a glow on his face. "See why I didn't want you to know afore It started?" I nodded, waiting for what was going to come of the enormous snowflakes. I didn't have to wait long. They spun down, narrowing into slender ice tendrils like at the start, flashing color all across the gathered assembly. they widened out, the colorful tendrils thinning out across the crowd to form a roof of flashing color, sheets of greens and blues wove across the ice in hypnotic patterns, thin waves of color flecked through the already present patterns, forming weaves of color over one another, each blended perfectly into the next, dazzling the eye and daring the mind to find a beginning or end. A symphony of colors, lead by a master. As the colors faded, the ice retracted, pulling over the ice rink, then sinking into it, trapping the colors in the ground. I turned to Tom. "You were right, I've seen the most beautiful sight of my life. Thanks you for showing me, it was wonderful."

"Well, the queen does such things twice every year. once at the end of this festival, as you just saw, and once after the first snowfall. only then when the queen locks away the color of the sky, she sends them high into the night sky, hanging them over Arendelle as if it were a painting. During winter, the ice is so large and so bright, You can see it for miles around."

"It is a sight worthy of such. Farewell until we meet again Tom." He nodded and turned, a smile on his face. I turned and walked to the old camp. none of the others were there, playing dice or discussing ways into the castle, they were all locked away in the bottom of the castle they had spent so long planning to enter. There was an irony to that, So much planning, such complicated plans, to achieve something so easy. I turned, walking silently toward the castle, wrapped by the shadows of night.

I reached the outer wall of the castle. The guards didn't even blink as I slipped past them. In the night, nobody ever saw me, the dark of night to strong my ally to allow it. Inside the first wall, in the city proper, I walked quickly toward the castle, wasting no time. The ghost was on the move.

"Say Tim, How long do you say until the next watch comes?"

"If it were only another five seconds, it'd be an hour to late for my tastes, there's something wrong in the air tonight."

"I know." the first said, his voice and posture tense. I ignored them. the torchlight in the gateway would not allow me to simply walk past completely unnoticed, so instead, I stepped from my own shadow to the shadow of a tree deep within the garden. Had anybody been able to watch, I would have simply vanished without a trace, appearing within the garden of the castle, about sixty meters away. I slunk to the window, peering in, seeing the guard as he passed by. I stepped through the darkness to an open doorway, the room was empty, but the guard in the hall would likely look in this room before passing by. I cloaked myself in shadow and waited for him to pass, wondering what Elsa's failsafe had been. The guard continued on his way, and I on mine. I slipped through the rooms, making my way to the stairs, watching for guards. There were many, but none saw me, though one almost bumped into me, and I had to shadow step past him. I looked up the stairwell, preparing for what I might find.

 

During the day, I would have been able to know, simply ask the shadows and wait for an answer. But in the day I could not walk from shadow to shadow, not wreath myself in darkness as I could at night. I wielded dual power, during the day I could speak with shadows, learn what they knew, see what they saw. But at night! Oh, the night was my time. The freedom of stepping from shadow to shadow, the thrill of wrapping oneself in darkness, and the creative rush that occurred when I molded the darkness to my needs, I longed for it all the day, touching it only at those twilight hours when it was both day and night.

The stairwell was empty, not a single guard on the entire thing. something was not right. there should have been at least one, preferably two on the stairs, with more nearby in case those on the stairs called. But the rooms they would have been in were empty. I slunk through the deserted hallways toward the secret door in the ceiling which lead to the treasury. As I neared the hallway, I heard voices, low voices talking amongst themselves. I leaned cautiously around the corner, looking for the source of those voices. There, in the dimly light hallway, was a force of about twenty guards. likely all the guards that would have been in the stairway as well as patrolling this floor were gathered directly under the trapdoor. I knocked over a nearby vase, then shadow walked away, then again, ending at the edge of another hallway, leading to the door. I rattled a table, then stepped through the dark the other end of the hall. I pulled down a tapestry, then, cloaked in darkness, I watched the guards react.

"You four, go down that hallway and figure out what made that sound. you four, take that one. you four, investigate that tapestry. something isn't right here, and I intend to find out what."

As if you would have a chance of catching me like that, I thought to myself. Then slipped out an opened window, and used a single shadow forged blade to break the locks of each window in the hall, causing the remaining guards to scatter about, trying to discover what had opened the window. I reached up and opened the trapdoor slightly, shadow walking to the ceiling above it and using the darkness to close it. The fact that I had moved to the ceiling instead of the floor likely saved me as the entire area turned to ice, sealing the trapdoor shut. I blinked to the wall, watching as the queen fired dozens of icy darts toward the space she suspected I occupied.

"come out come out wherever you are." she said, voice deceptively sweet. I didn't respond, not wanting to give her a target.

"I know you're in here, else the guards would have been making quite a ruckus down there. how did you get past them anyhow?"

I was racking my brain, wondering why I hadn't noticed the chill emanating from her. even through the floor, it should have been obvious. The I remembered. _The open window! I didn't give it a thought at the time, but the air would have cooled the hallway, making it harder to notice._ I silently cursed my lack of attention.

"I suppose that you could do this the hard way."

I morphed the dark around a pile of coins into a bag, then slipped to it and picked it up while she wasn't looking. she was practically blind here, firing off blasts of icy magic in all directions as the floor began to freeze. I blinked to the rafters, and began stepping from one to another, quietly walking across the top of the treasury. I was over the door when I realized I had no way out. The ice over the door was thick, and there was no way that I could break through without her catching me at it.

The ice on the floor was steadily growing, spikes began protruding from the floor and walls, making the floor nearly impassable. I blinked behind Elsa, the only open space visible in the room, and began to snake my way through the spikes towards the trapdoor. Only to realize that Elsa was on top of it. I cursed my luck again, but slipped back, waiting for a chance to leave. the ice on the floor started to grow up again, this time I was trapped between the spikes on the roof and the ice on the floor, and just managed to grab hold of an ice spike, pulling myself onto it and away from the growing ice around the queen. Then the ice stopped, it didn't melt, just stopped. The queen sat down, waiting.

"You might be better than your comrades, but you're still going to be locked away with them in the end, whoever you are."

"Few could be worse than they deliberately, so I take that as an insult."

"Well, you are speaking now, that's good." I ducked, just barely managing to avoid the blast of icy air that shot from her hand.

"I'm not even trying to hurt you and here you are trying to take m head off. that's hardly a fair trade."

"You can keep your head, but you'll be walking down to the dungeons in chains, after all, I can't have people breaking into the vault now can I?"

"I'm just a player, and all the world is the game." I molded a pick from the darkness and began to slide to the very back of the room, careful not to make a sound.

"A player? of what game?" another volley of icy blasts struck the spikes behind me as I snuck away. For the first time, I'd almost been caught. I'd have to be more careful with my escape.

I reached the back of the room, ignoring the queens queries and statements, not wanting to give away that I had moved, she'd get a warning soon enough. I swung my pick into the wall, breaking through the ice and digging into the stone, the sound of shattering ice and cracking stone shattered the relative silence of the room. instantly, the ice began to melt, the ice retracting at the will of the queen so that she could locate me. I swung again, digging deep within stone, then again. I felt the stone give way, I was almost out. I withdrew the pick, and put my eye to the hole, looking to the mountains, seeing a castle on the mountains, it held the shadows of night perfectly, then I felt the cold. Then I felt nothing at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bit longer than most of the other chapters.  
> Still think I'm a bad author


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> interrogations don't really go anybodies way, and that's before Kel starts teleporting.

## Chapter five

I woke right outside the ballroom, which, I supposed, was also a throne room. Two guards stood at my sides, and another two at the entrance to the throne room. I heard the queen talking rather loudly inside.

"Get Anna and Kristoff, as well as the other six thieves, I caught the last one, so now I'm going to ask them why they came here, and I want Anna and Kristoff to be here so I don't miss anything."

In that case, I had only a few minutes. I pulled a small dagger from my sleeve. I kept a few special daggers on me at all times. each one was coated in a potent venom that I couldn't pull from darkness. Each one was the more potent of the types of poison I knew, one causing death instantly from even the slightest cut, one froze whoever was unfortunate enough to be struck in place, paralyzing them with a single stroke for as long as a week. The third caused a deep sleep to come upon those struck, so deep as to trap one in the dream world for a month without waking. thus it was with great care that I began to cut myself free of the ropes which held me. the last fiber broke as I heard The queen call out.

"There you two are. I've been waiting, I caught the last one, just as I told you I would, and now I'm waiting for the rest so that we can question them all, and I want you to make sure I don't miss something."

I allowed myself to be pulled into the throne room, waiting for an instant before swinging my hands apart, the cut ropes falling to the ground, then grabbed both guards and pulled, leaping into the air as I did so, launching myself up and back while knocking the guards down, effectively nullifying them as the volley of ice I had predicted froze them to the floor, covering the entire floor in ice, but passing harmlessly under me.

"You obviously haven't met any good thieves. Or you'd have known to check that the moment I walked in." I slid to one side as I hit the floor, the slick surface lending itself easily to the movement.

"And why would I do that? you're already caught, again. In fact, this is remarkably similar to what happened two days ago."

That cut me the wrong way.

"Two days? You're trying to get me to believe that I've been out for two days." I pushed off the wall as I leapt, the wall and floor growing a coat of ice as thick as two fingers.

"Not only is that ridiculous, but really, in all that time, you didn't think to search me?"

"Search for what, exactly?"

I flipped the white dagger from my sleeve, using it to dig into the wall, halting my fall before it began, The next blast passed just under my feet, where I would have been an instant later otherwise.

"Anything I could use as a back door, since any good thief always has one or two."

I pulled the dagger from the wall, slid partway down the wall and kicked off, flipping and landing on all fours in the middle of the floor. I glanced out the doors behind me. It was getting late in the day, not late enough for me to be able to blink or shadow walk, but almost.

"Well, It took two days for you to wake, as well as get you out of there. do you have any idea how hard it is to get an unconscious person out of a secret trapdoor without breaking something?"

I ducked and spun to the left. "No, I've never had to deal with that, not having a secret trapdoor to have an unconscious person pass through." Then pulled a second dagger, this one black, from my other sleeve. I dug the first into the wall, the second shot through the air, stabbing into the wall on the other side of the room, I followed shortly after, or I partially followed. Halfway across the room I threw the third dagger, a grey one flecked with white and black, into the ceiling, a rope attached to , and pulled down. a loop of rope over a rafter, I caught the dagger, a slipped it back to its place, pulling both ends of the rope into a knot as I pulled down, halting my flight and sending me backwards and up, instead of the rest of the way across the room. I landed on the rafter, cut the knot and coiled the rope again as I raced across the beam. on each side ice started growing over, walling off front and back as it approached. I leapt off, caught the black dagger, and shoot backward, using the dagger to form a handhold to swing from the ice, launching me onto the upper balcony. There weren't any guards in it, another major oversight on the queens part, but I wasn't whining. I ducked as a volley of ice shot into the balcony. a few blasts struck the ceiling above me, the ice expanding over all the doors leading in and out of the balcony. I raced around to stand above the throne, stopping for a moment.

"Well, I almost wish I hadn't waited for you to wake before I killed you. Because I certainly will when I catch you."

"Charming, I'll just have to make sure you don't then, won't I?"

"It'll be less painful if you let me catch you now."

"And let you catch me without leaving that throne? Right." I ran along the rest of the balcony, standing roughly above the white dagger, launching myself off the edge as the next volley of ice shot towards me. I cursed, wishing It was late enough for me to call a mirrorshard blade to parry those blasts with. I slipped down the wall only seconds before the entire wall and balcony turned white with ice. I pulled the white dagger, stowing that away as well, then ducked behind a pillar, waiting for the queens next move.

"You can run, and you can hide, but you can't last forever."

"You can't keep up so much ice forever either, and come nightfall, I'll be gone without a trace."

"Not if you can't get out of this room."

I laughed. "You can't stop me." then shifted between the wall and the pillar. it was a narrow space, but I could fit easily. The queen wasn't on the throne, but I could guess where she was. I spun around, my hand shooting out of the gap. I felt something give. Something unnaturally cold. A moment later, I heard a thump as I kicked off the pillar to the next one. glancing through the iced over doorway as I did so. Almost. A minute, at most. A wave of ice shot toward me. I swung the white dagger to meet it. As the dagger and ice met, the ice slowed, still moving toward me, but I could easily slip between it and the rest of the wave. the dagger wasn't a mirrorshard, but it was good enough.

"How did you do that?"

"That's nothing. watch this." I felt the moment arrive. I swung my hand up, a blade of silver and black appearing in it as I swung to met the next wave of ice. the ice reflected in all directions, coating the walls in ice. I blinked to the doors, a single cut appeared in the wall of ice. I spun, meeting another wave of ice with my blade, coating another section of the room in ice as It reflected away from me. I stepped through the doors and faded into the night, cloaked in darkness.

I headed up the stairs immediately. Nobody ever expected an escaping thief to go back where he had been caught. I was back in the vault in seconds. I picked up a bag of coins, then returned to the throne room. It was empty and nobody saw me place the pouch on the throne. I grinned. Perhaps now they'd be more careful with thieves.

"Was that there when we left Elsa?"

"Was what...? no, that wasn't there." I tapped them both on the shoulder, then stepped behind them, allowing myself to be seen, should they turn around.

"what was that?"

"Alright, where are you?" the sisters scanned the room, jumping in shock when they turned and saw me.

"Right here, My lady." I mocked.

"alright, I get it, you're better than the rest. now why are you here?"

"Finally, somebody asked the right question! I'm here because I like to see if people can catch me."

"I'll give you a bit to remember that we got you to!" Anna leapt toward me, trying to punch me. I leaned back slightly, then shifted to the right, she over balanced on the icy floor and hit the ground.

"Is she always like this?" I ducked and cut a volley of ice as Elsa fired it.

"Let me rephrase that: Are you both Always like this?" I blinked to the corner of the room, waiting.

"So you're just interested in the thrill of the job?"

"To put it simply, yes. that is correct."

"Alright, now you're trying to trick us. there's no way that's all you're after."

"Well I don't exactly have any other reason to do it. nor any reason not to, really."

"Care to explain?" Anna was still red faced, but Elsa was calmer, slightly.

"Well, my family was killed on unjust charges, I wasn't there at the time and got away thanks to the villagers who knew the truth. after that, I spend years honing my talents, talents forbidden by my parents, who were to fearful to recognize them as gifts rather than a curse. Eventually, I decided to combine my talents for theft and with shadows to break into the most heavily guarded places in the world, often taking something to prove it. however, after the first, I was without worldly needs for years, continuing only for the thrill, taking little, if any. Eventually, that search for the next job lead me here. and you know the rest."

"If you wouldn't mind, I think I have a proposition for you, I'll need to talk with my counselors first though."

"I'll be there, even if they'd rather I wasn't." The queen frowned slightly.

"I suppose that we can't stop you can we?"

"No, no you can't" I shrouded myself again, and left.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> job interview, spy style

## Chapter six

"We have all been wondering how best to locate and counteract the spies that the duke has been sending, as well as finding an assassin, though I wasn't sure that part was necessary at the time. Well, I've found somebody who could be the perfect person for the job." The room erupted into talk.

"Queen Elsa, that was madness! Such men are of devious mind, and we haven't any of them in the kingdom, so you left the kingdom without warning, to find somebody would as soon kill you as listen to you?"

"What is this? where is he?"

"Why do you think he will be able to take this position?"

"What makes you think he can be trusted?"

"I know he'll be able to perform the job well because I've watched him in action. I didn't have to leave the kingdom, as you are so loudly proclaiming, and As far as trust, I'm still wary." she smiled. "Although that might not have been wise to say, given that He's likely here just now." Shocked silence. "Now, are you planning on showing up or are they all going to be staring at empty space?" I released the shroud, standing in plain sight, against my better judgment. Again, shocked silence.

"I believe that he can fit what we need. is there anything that you wish to bring up now?"

"This man... he can hide behind nothing! how is this?"

"The same way your queen can call ice in summer. now if you wish to ask stupid questions, ask somebody else." the man looked considerably taken aback by my response, staring open mouthed for a few seconds.

"I've none, if he can shut up Sellay that fast, I'm satisfied." I nodded. "Then It looks as though I have a job now." I nodded to the counsel, then Elsa, then walked out. Behind me I heard a small gasp. I smiled. Can't hurt them to get used to somebody being sharp with them, nobody else was so far as I could see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright, super short chapter, but It didn't fit with the last one, and it certainly doesn't fit with the next one.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> several weeks later, Kel sees an assassin and waits until the last second to do anything useful. He also ignores his employer several times.

## Chapter seven

I was on the roof, watching nobody in particular, in the dark of night, there weren't many people out. When I saw something, just a flash of motion before it vanished, but I caught it. I looked around, focusing on nowhere in particular, but studying the area. A figure raced from one shop to another, hiding just out of sight. The figure moved closer, every dash brought them closer to the castle. The gates might have been closed for the night, but I doubted that would stop them, not if they were any good. I watched, waiting to see what they would do. One of the guards leaned over the wall as the figure raced onto the bridge. "Who goes there?" He froze, gurgling slightly, then fell to the floor, blood flowing slowly around an arrow in his chest. The other guard stared for a moment, then turned to sound the alarm. A grapple and line flew over the wall, and after a few seconds a figure appeared, bow in hand. the guard was almost to the alarm bell, he hit the ground as well, a white arrow in his back. I waited. This guy was good, so he wasn't going to be using all his tricks, not this early. He jumped down from the wall, landing on one of the two guards at the inside of the gate. The guard wouldn't be getting back up, not unless the dagger in his face was an illusion. The other guard cut through nothing, his clumsy sword stroke passing barely through where the man had been. The guard spun slightly when the blade didn't give the resistance he'd expected. Then he fell, the killer having retrieved his dagger from the first corpse and stabbing it deep into the second guard, killing him before he hit the ground.

"This is to easy." I almost attacked him then, but I wanted to know who had sent him, and why he was here. I followed, cloaked in shadows and silent as a falling snowflake. not close enough for him to walk into me, but close enough to see him. They wore a suit that covered their full body, leaving only their eyes and hands uncovered. Up the castle wall he climbed, using the grapple to help hold him in place while he found a new hand or foothold. then he stopped at the third floor window, opening it quietly and slipping in. I blinked in as he closed the window. He slipped silently to the queens corner of the castle, hidden from the guards stationed at the door to her rooms. he slipped back out the window, and onto the roof. I was still following him, wondering if maybe I shouldn't just push him off the edge. Then he was gone, over the top and down into the queens rooms. not near where she would be just now, but far too close for comfort. I climbed down to the queens window and blinked in, waiting in darkness.

I didn't have to wait long. The door opened only a few moments later. Whoever his employer was, they had good information of the castle. He held a dagger in one hand, right above the queen. I waited until he raised the dagger to strike, then snapped my hand out, grabbing his wrist and pulled, overbalancing him before blinking to the other side of the room, still hidden. He spun, swinging wildly at the air were I had stood moments ago. Then he frowned, and returned to his task. His mouth was working slightly, and I realized that he was likely preparing for if he got captured. Poison himself, and nothing could be learned. there were very few ways to stop him from releasing the poison, since it was already in his mouth, he simply had to break the container in his mouth and swallow. He swung down, and My mirror shard stopped his blade a few inches from his target. I launched my fist into his throat before he could swallow, hoping that the poison wasn't a liquid, as he had already clenched his jaw, presumably breaking the poison capsule open. He gagged, then collapsed. I picked him up and carried him out. The queen hadn't woken, thankfully, I'd likely be trying to break through a six inch layer of ice just to see if he was alive.

I flipped the unconscious assassin upside down on a desk and pulled his mouth open to see If I could remove the poison. the capsule was still there, a greenish powder was scattered in his mouth. I picked up some of the water from the wash basin and poured it into his mouth, letting it wash back out when He didn't swallow. After a few minutes of this, he began to stir, and I put the water back in the basin. "I see you've returned to the land of the living." I flipped him right side up, wrapping his hands and arms in shadow forged ties. "You can't get anything out of me, not in time you won't"

"And why would that be?" I was totally unconcerned, Ice fen had a distinct scent, and unless he'd had two capsules, the capsule hadn't had enough to kill him without swallowing the full dose.

"Because I'll be singing with the dead shortly." He laughed at the mocking horror I played across my face. "Didn't think I had anything else on me did you? didn't check if I'd swallowed anything did you?" His voice was triumphant and rising.

"There is only one flaw in your apparent triumph, my friend." He stopped laughing and looked at me questioningly. I held out the two halves of the capsule

"You didn't swallow enough to kill you, not since I washed most of it out while you were unconscious." This time he looked terrified, but this wasn't false, not unless he was such a good actor as to be able to sweat in an icy room because he needed to.

"Not so cocky now are you?" The door opened behind me, I didn't bother looking. his face, however, was even more terrified, if that were possible.

"Now, I'm going to ask you a simple question, and I want a truthful answer. Who sent you here?"

"I for one, would like to know why and who he is." Elsa spoke, her footsteps indicated she was coming closer. her tone, displeasure.

"I-I-I-I..."

"Elsa, stop being so intimidating, your making him loose the ability to speak properly. and you'll never get the answer to your questions with him in that state." She sighed and sat down on the chair that, until recently, had been tucked under the desk.

"Alright then, enlighten me on why you are interrogating a mysterious person in my study without telling anybody."

"I just happened to watch him sneaking over the castle walls-very bad job of that I might add- take out four guards with admittedly better skill, then climb the caste wall to the third floor, effectively avoiding most of the guards, then climb in, check which was he needed to go then sneak around the outside and climb back in your window. Though I must say that he wasn't much for being quiet."

"Y-Y-You watched me that long? How? and why didn't you do anything sooner?"

"Well, I am rather good at not being seen when I don't want to be. And as for-"

"Shut up Kel."

"-Not doing anything, I rather wanted to-"

"I said, shut up Kel." Elsa's voice as at a rather interesting pitch, about equal parts angry and murderous.

"-see if you had any aces up your sleeve, you didn't, which disappoints me. now if-"

"KEL SHUT UP!"

"could tell us who sent you, I'll leave you alone." I flipped my mirror shard up, catching Elsa ice blast on the edge of the blade, launching it into the ceiling. The would-be assassin flinched as the blast shot past his head.

"It was the duke of weasel town."

"The duke sent you? How nice of him to show that he hasn't forgotten us."

"Kel, It would be a rather good life choice if you kept your mouth shut for the next half hour or so, maybe leaving the area might be wise to." Elsa hissed. The dukes crony ducked behind the desk as much as the bonds would allow. I shrugged.

"It wouldn't be the first time somebody tried to kill me, and besides, I have developed a habit of not dying when people want me to." I rolled to the side as another blast of ice flew past."

"Apparently after I get back from... returning the dukes message, I'm going to have to teach you how to use your powers defensively, Offense might be stupid, since you're more likely to try to hit me than anybody else." I turned and jumped out the open window.

behind me, I heard a yelp of fear, then a hiss of ice. I smiled as I started out through the night. Elsa would likely leave a very frostbitten and hypothermic assassin when she was able to regain control of her rage. I didn't bother feeling sorry for him, he had tried to kill her after all.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kel returns the message

## Chapter eight

"Why haven't we heard back from the assassin? He was supposed to have reported back by now." The duke of Weasel town squawked. I grinned from my hiding place just around the corner from his throne.

"Sir, one of our spies from Arendelle is here to report."

"Excellent, send him in." I slipped into a hidden corner in the throne room, watching for the spy. One of Anna's stewards walked in, bowed to the duke and began his report.

"Sir, the assassin You told me to expect appeared and was caught by one of the guards as he approached the queens rooms. I am also the last of your spies uncaught. the Queen seems to have suddenly discovered almost all of our secret signs and signals."

He bowed again and remained, waiting.

"Return to the castle, continue to gather information, and see if you can locate the vault, that's what I most want. Dismissed!" The steward rose and left the room.

I slipped forward. it was late, one of my favorite times of day. Twilight, when I could use all my abilities and talents to their full potential. Undetected I approached the duke. This was far too easy. despite the two guards at his sides, He was going to be the only death tonight. My mirror shard appeared as I thrust, the blade killed him instantly, leaving no mark on his skin. To all appearances, he simply gasped and slumped forward, dead. If a doctor were to cut him open for some reason, he would see that the dukes heart had a hole in it, but that would be all that he saw. I left, my job done. My blade left a trail of shadow on the floor for a moment, but that faded quickly. I turned toward Arendelle, a small thrill rising from the knowledge of another job done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this ending feels abrupt, but the next part has him on the way back, so sorry people, there's only so much I can do. :(

**Author's Note:**

> sorry if this series seems rushed, also, I'm not that great of an author, or grammarian (I think that's the term?) or anything else like that.


End file.
